Aden – Exclusive
First Lieutenant Pilot Rahma Al-Azizdeen Salam Al-Hawshabi has revealed that she has been suspended from duty at the Yemeni Ministry of Defense for the past four months, due to what she described as “arbitrary and discriminatory measures” imposed by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense, Brigadier General Mohsen Al-Amoud.

In a press statement, Al-Hawshabi said she had remained committed to her military duties and the directives of the Minister, yet she faced deliberate obstacles and rejection of her presence as a female officer in the office. She added that the harassment included stripping her of assignments, denying her military entitlements, and forcing her to report to work even on official days off in violation of military regulations.

She explained that she had submitted multiple complaints to the leadership — represented by the Minister of Defense and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff — but the case, according to her, was dismissed with the phrase: “These things happen in the army, and you must be patient and endure.”

Al-Hawshabi further noted that interventions and promises from other senior officers to resolve the dispute never materialized. Instead, she was recently shocked by an official order permanently suspending her from duty, giving her only two options: either to work in the army’s uniform sewing workshop or remain at home.

The Yemeni pilot stressed that she is demanding her case be referred to the military court for fair adjudication, warning that the failure to protect the rights of military personnel poses a threat to the very institution of the army itself. She stated: “An army that does not stand for its members will never stand for its nation.”

She concluded her statement by affirming that her experience reflects the broader struggle faced by women in the armed forces, insisting that her rights will not be lost and that she has now taken her case to the public after exhausting all internal legal avenues within the Ministry.